There are many conventional devices used for displaying information to an audience. Examples of an audience may include a group of students seated in a classroom, a group of business people at a conference, and participants connected to a conference via video conferencing equipment. Information presented to the students and other audiences, perhaps by a professor or a guest speaker, may be presented using a projector, such as an overhead projector or a slide projector. Information presented to an audience may also be presented using a personal computer, such as a laptop computer connected to a display projection device.
Conventional timing devices, such as clocks and stopwatches, are well known. In a typical classroom environment, there is typically a clock located on one of the classroom walls that displays the time of day. However, the clock typically does not possess stopwatch-type functions, and may not be in the same line of sight as the projector screen, making it inconvenient to look at the clock while maintaining focus on the subject matter of the presentation. Also, a presenter is not able to control the timing functions of a wall clock. There may be occasions during a presentation when it would be desirable for a speaker to have control of timing functions, such as during an experiment, an exam, or in tracking the total elapsed time of a presentation.
Video conferencing is typically a costly service. Displaying a timer to each conference participant would aid in the tracking of the total time of the video conference so as to make participants aware of the cost of the conference. Displaying the elapsed time of a video conference to all participants also aids in reminding the participants of how long they have been involved in a conference, in case they have a schedule to maintain. Since participants may become very involved in a conference and may lose track of the time, displaying the time to each participant on their individual screen is an effective way of providing a constant reminder.
A conventional time tracking approach is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,944, in which a portable electronic device having a transparent liquid crystal display is described. The timing device includes a plastic casing, foldable legs, and is placed onto the surface of a projector where light passes through the device and displays LCD numerals onto a screen. A disadvantage of the timer of the '944 patent is that it is not connected to a projector and may be easily lost, separated, or dropped from the projector surface. Since the device of the '944 patent is not integrated into the projector, it must also be supplied as a separate piece of equipment. Another disadvantage of the '944 timer is that it must be placed onto a flat, horizontal surface, such as that of an overhead projector. Many conventional projectors, such as a slide projector, do not possess a flat horizontal surface, making the conventional timer of the '944 patent impossible to use. An additional disadvantage of the '944 timer is that it interferes with the working space of an overhead projector surface, making it troublesome for a presenter to switch transparencies on the overhead projector without knocking the '944 timer out of place or even off of the projector surface onto the floor, where it may be become damaged.
A second timer approach is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,694, in which a timing device for coordinating a presentation includes a master timer with a timing initiator, a programmable master sensory alarm responsive to the sequencer, a master alarm silencer, and a communication transmitter responsive to at least one of the timing initiator and the master sequencer. The device of the '694 patent involves a low power radio signal transmitted by the communication transmitter. The timing device of the '694 patent is used for coordinating the timing of a presentation, but does not include a time display that may be displayed to the audience. The device involves sending a signal from a master controller to a slave timer that alerts a speaker of a time limit.
It is further desirable to have a device that allows a presenter of an audio/visual presentation to track the elapsed time of a presentation. It is also desirable to provide a time tracking device in which the presenter can start, stop, and pause the time tracking device in a simple manner, without taking time away from a presentation. Preferably, such a device would be included within a projector device, thus eliminating the need for a presenter to supply such a device for a presentation. It is also preferable that the time displayed on the timing device be capable of being projected by a projector to the viewing audience in an easy to read and interference free manner.